St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1887-11-13
he ROBBED THE BANK
! sdePick Bickle is the Man
That Did the Union Bank
Of Duluth.
Captured in Chicago With the
$4,000 Which Was in
His Grip.
The Very "Good" Young Man
Passes an Afternoon in
st. Paul.
How He Stole the Money, and
How He Was Tracked and
Taken.

Another mystery has been unraveled
bv the PinkertOn detectives. and an
other notch added to their long list OF
attempts at thief-taking.
What new to-day" asked GLOBE
reporter as he strolled into the office
last evening.
"Wen.we have captured the man that
robbed the Duluth National bank OF
E24.5OO lust two months ago" said Mr..
Loader, the genial, sharp-eyed superin-
tendent.
"What?'
"Yes. .pinched' him in Chicago last
night and recovered all the money"
The people of St. Paul well remember
the circumstance, which occurred III
September last, but the matter. like the
usual nine-dayS' wonder, had died out
of public notice The Duluth bank
officials would not give out the details
at the time.
Mr. Loader related the details of the
Ease as follows: On Friday afternoon,
Sept. Is, II. a. Ware, cashier OF the
Union National bank of Duluth, visited
The bank vault at 8 O'Clock, and upon
opening the safe discovered that the
reserve" consisting of six packages OF
bills, and amounting to S24. 800, had dis
WelleS, he asked:
Mr.. WelleS, have you moved the re-
serve from its accustomed place."
Il have not, sir" replied the teller.
"Then it's goner' calculated the
cashier, and instantly all was hustle
and confusion in the bank. A thorough
search was made. but they soon became
convinced that robbery had occurred.
A telegram was Immediately sent TO >.
j. Odeil, president of the bank, at CHI
cagO. and he at once placed the matter
in the hands of the PinkertOn detective
agency. An assistant superintendent
was at once dispatched to the city of
Duluth to make a thorough investiga-
ton. while at the same time all trains
from Duluth to ST. Paul and Chicago
were thoroughly and keenly watched
for any suspicious persons or known
criminals that might arrive from Du-
luth.
IT WAS FAIR WEEK
in st. Paul, and as all fakirs and crooks
had been spotted by the police, Super
intendent Loader, of the St. Paul Office.
thought it well to ascertain whether or
not any of these gentry had been lOiter-
ing in the vicinity of Duluth. A tho
rough search in Duluth and the sur
rounding country failed TO disclose the
slightest semblance of a clue, or the
presence of any such persons, nor had
any person been in or left Duluth that
day who could not be satisfactorily ac-
counted for. Every step taken only
served to deepen the mystery. Drawing
the employees of the bank together, the
detective commenced his examination:
THE robbery occurred during the
hour of noon. | am satisfied of that,
he said.
Now then, how many men were left
here in the bank at nOOn?'
1.-TWO, as the rules of the bank strictly
require. The bank is never left with
out two men ii" was the reply.
"WhO were they?'
Myself and the messenger boy. Fred
erick Bickle," responded the teller.
Are you sure both of you were here
during the entire noon hOur?'
"Well," admitted the teller, 1.-The fact
of the matter is this. Bickle came to
Inc and told me he had neglected to at
tend to his clearanceS and asked per-
mission to go to the clearance house. or
he would be fined So. | knew tins fine
would be imposed and rather than see
the boy lose s., / let him co.
This was an important point for the
detective, and Discontinued: during
the time the boy was absent. did any
'
No. SIR" was the prompt answer.
This and few more Inquiries abolished
the idea of any sneak thief having CON-
mitted the crime. 4 stall is inYaria-
bly, used to engage the tellerS atten-
ion, so that the sneak thief may come
in with rubber shoes and do his work in
an instant. Besides, every key was
found in its proper place and every door
was closed. A sneak thief never closes
door behind him and the detective be-
came satisfied that some one in the bank
was the guilty party. As all the EN-
plOyeS had had access to the vault several
times that day, it was difficult to deter
mine which one committed the deed,
as all were men of good character and
standing. 1t was determined to KEEP
up system of watching or shadow
ing" and Mr.. Larder, with the aid OF
his men, kept the closest possible watch
on all of the employees. Finally, the
actions of the messenger boy, Frederick
Bickle. attracted Mr.. Larder's particu,
lar attention, and the watch on him was
increased. His
EVERY ACTION WAS SHADOWED.
His past life and antecedentS were
thoroughly inquired into. Nothing bad
was found against him. except that he
never stuck long at any thing he under
lOOh 11C Ndo oUppOStU W DO VI SOOt
moral habits, attended churcl
regularly and had done so fol
years. The detective consulted with
Mr.. Odell, the bank president. and il
was determined to discharge Bickle il
order to test his actions after leaving
the banks employ. Bickle saved the
cashier this trouble by rendering hi,
resignation, though he gave severa
weeks notice of his intention to leave
From this hour the detectives never
lost sight of him, and gave complete
history Of every little action each day
On Monday last he finished inStructins
his successor in the routine of the
work and left the bank. On Tuesda!
he worked all day on the windows o
his boarding house, putting in storm
windows. etc, as though preparing TO
cold weather. On W cdnesday the SHADOW
knew that Bickle was going TO leave
Duluth that day, on account of his SuS
pciOuS actions. In the afternoon h,
Started down street, the detective fol
lowing closely in his wake. Suddenl,
he darted into building and succeeded
in shaking his pursuer. The defective
Immediately telegraphed to the St. Pau
agency, and on Thursday morning
when he passed through here, anOthe
detective picked him up and fOllOWe,
him on to Milwaukee. At Milwaukee
he bought a ticket for Maine, and tin
shadow was relieved by new one
for fear the boy would drop TO the fac
that he was watched. Bickle had tOl,
all his Duluth friends that h
was going to st. Paul TO spen,
a day OF two, but it was fOun
that he had purchased in Duluth tickle
for Milwaukee. Instead of taking tn
train at Duluth. he was driven thre
miles out to West Duluth and boarded
there. He had intended to take the boa
from Milwaukee to Grand Haven, theme
TO Canada, and from there via the Gran'
Trunk to Maine. On Friday morning